Doña Ana County commission selects new 911 center site

LAS CRUCES >> A new, 18,000-square-foot 911 emergency call center will be built on a plot of land just north of the Doña Ana County Government Center using millions in taxpayer dollars.

That's according to a decision made by Doña Ana County commissioners in a unanimous vote Tuesday, overshadowed by an hours-long debate revolving around gay marriage.

The step was "one giant step forward" in the project, said Hugo Costa, executive director of the 911 center, called the Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority.

"Up until now, there's been some background activity with the consultants and the architectural firm meeting every two weeks," he said. "But we really have not been able to move officially forward and do some blueprints."

The approval means that design plans for the facility can be finished up entirely, said Armando Cordero, head of county facilities. The county could only go so far without knowing for certain which site would be selected, but it has finished much of the planning that didn't hinge upon the future building's location, he said.

"We've got 68 percent of the building designed already," he said.

The roughly three-acre, county-owned parcel is the main site county officials have focused upon in recent months after a top-ranked site didn't work out.

County spokesman Jess Williams said the location has a number of advantages over the site of the current facility, located downtown.

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"It's a secure site," he said "It's not on a through street. It's not on a main thoroughfare, but it's close" to one.

Plus, Williams said the site is near the sheriff's headquarters, which are also located in the county building.

A major weakness of the existing 911 call center is that it's just off Lohman Avenue and susceptible to damage from car crashes, officials have said. It's also in a flood zone and is too small, officials said.

Las Cruces Police Department Chief Richard Williams said his agency is "pleased" the commission has selected a site. Asked whether the future location farther from the city's center will be more inconvenient for officers, Williams said it shouldn't be.

"The overwhelming majority of our interaction with dispatch is by radio or electronic communication so the location of their new building should have no negative effect on LCPD," he said in an email. "The dispatch center is the central link between our residents, law enforcement, fire and ambulance. All of us will benefit from MVRDA's new home."

Costa said the location of the agency's future home is "suitable."

"There's really nothing negative I can say about it," he said.

County Sheriff Todd Garrison wasn't available for comment Wednesday afternoon.

$8.25 million available

In all, $6 million in general obligation bonds for the new 911 call center was OK'd by county voters July 30. Another $2.25 million was approved by the state Legislature earlier this year.

Cordero said it's likely all of that will be used because the future building is so specialized. The cost is likely to range between $300 to $350 per square foot, compared to $200 to $250 per square foot for a typical building.

The county has paid for planning with a pool of nearly $900,000 from an earlier legislative grant.

2015 target date

Tuesday's approval solidifies a construction time line.

The final architectural plans should be finished by Dec. 30, according to a county schedule. The opening of a bidding process for contractors should happen Jan. 2 of next year, and a contractor should be decided upon by Feb. 15 of next year. The building is expected to be complete by May 15, 2015, according to the document.

"We're trying to stick to that schedule at this point," Cordero said.

Costa said his staff members are excited, now that the long-discussed proposal is moving closer to reality.

"They're really chomping at the bit to see a floor plan," he said.

The county, which is responsible for housing the call center, had considered a site west of Interstate 10 on Avenida de Mesilla. But it was bypassed after buried fuel tanks were discovered, officials have said.

The second-highest ranked site was the county-owned parcel near the government center on Motel Boulevard. A third site was near a proposed public safety campus being planned by the city of Las Cruces on the East Mesa -- a location some 911 call center supporters had backed.

Other approvals

Also at Tuesday's meeting, commissioners voted 5-0 to re-launch a bid process to solicit economic development services. It's a pool of funding that in recent years has funded the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance, a nonprofit industry-recruiting organization.

In addition, the commission voted to publish a notice about a future hearing on a proposed trash ordinance change. The proposal would force trash haulers to dump garbage collected in the unincorporated areas at certain transfer stations or landfills.